My local Moto Guzzi dealer, Colchester Kawasaki, has announced it’s closure. It is a huge dealership and a very interesting place to spend a few hours while the bike is being serviced. I hear they are downsizing ( hateful word) and intend to re-open somewhere else, but will not deal with Piaggio. I have heard other dealers are opting out of trade with Piaggio as well. I wonder why that is. I appreciate that the UK is a very small market for them but they, like many other companies, have a very poor reputation for customer communication. Hence some of the negative videos on You Tube. I wonder how many sales were lost due to that. I have noticed that outsourcing customer services generally means hiring another company to receive and fob off customer complaints. The result of this is that problems that affect the customer do not get to come to the attention of those that can fix things.
I once wrote to Rev’it to congratulate them on the quality of their garments and the effectiveness of the body armour they used. ( I had just been tipped off by a side swiping car) They wrote back to me to say they were not responsible for the actions of other road users. (??)
Anyhow, back to my main concern. What is it about Piaggio and the way they do business that is driving dealers to sever links with them. My next dealership is Mototechniks near Stowmarket and a round trip of 100 miles or so. I can’t see me sitting in their shop for six hours while my bike is being serviced. Which brings me to another grumble. I can’t get a loan bike these days due to my age. Insurance used by dealers say over 70 NO.
Wow that’s good. Only 100 miles round trip. My nearest dealers are 140 and 160 mile round trip. 
My Guzzi dealer is in another Country (Wales!) - but well worth the trip.
This is a definite trend with motorcycle dealers - I used to have Harley dealer 7 miles away and now its 145 miles each way after three closed in the last year - clearly the economics of running a dealership are changing and it’s not brand specific from what I can tell ?
I think you’re right in your belief that it’s not brand specific: Redundancies confirmed and dealerships close in firm’s collapse - Derbyshire Live
how can you get your bike serviced same day without the engine being cold for valve adjustment?
the reason dealers are dumping piaggio is their unreasonable demands to stock everything they sell and treating their dealers like dirt.
nobody wants to keep a stock of scooters and every bike in the guzzi range if all they usually sell is a few aprillia 125s, but this is what piaggio demand as well as a showroom built to their exact specifications now as well.
it doesn’t help when simple parts like a hub spacer take months to become available and parts shown on the dealer website are unobtainable for no reason whatsoever even for current/new bikes.
We’ve just lost two brands in Worcester, Ducati and Kawasaki, Completely Bikes runs both dealerships,so nothing now for us.
When I bought my Stelvio from Chelmsford Guzzi dealers Newcombe Brothers in 2011, I had a choice of them or Haywards of Cambridge to service it, both have stopped selling Guzzis, and now Colchester Kawasaki have gone as well. There are no Guzzi dealers in this part of the country at all.
Even after Newcombe Bros stopped selling Guzzis they still continued to service my Stelvio. I have also taken it to Baldricks to be checked over before a trip to the factory last year and before that to Twiggers in Loughborough to change to roller cams.
There are still dealers about and many decent independent garages/mechanics, surely having a Guzzi makes the 100 mile + ride all the more enjoyable?
Have fun
well, there is a lot more that went on in the background, than is known about in the press
for those of us local to the parent company it was not a surprise
and no I am not putting anything on here, no doubt it will come out when the courts get involved
Lets just say I would never have crossed their threshold, and its a real pity that they managed to schmooze some finance and take over several well run and respected business
Well Horton 916 - What do you do while your bike is being serviced? Is it in a town? Is public transport available to and from it?
Congratulations sidthedid, your comment indicates that you have escaped the gravitational attraction of Moto Guzzi sycophancy that casts a misty cloak over the shortcommings and failings that we all experience. If Piaggio pull out of the UK or if MG cease trading we all lose.
I think that one of the biggest problems has been motorcycle dealers , trying to copy car dealers, and becoming far too big in order to create greater profits, and claw back bigger discounts from suppliers
the salesmen I have met often lack a motorcycle licence, or if they have one, are sunny day only posers , and have little real knowledge of motorcycles in general, we did have a smaller local motorcycle shop, that sold as well as one brand, clothing and spares and parts
I always used them, and they were friendly and helpful, also did my MOT tests there, later on the two partners sold out to a shyster, who also sold old british junk at another premises, he was a real arfur daley character, when he got kicked out of his other premises for his habit of dumping old junk everywhere and making the place look like a scrapyard, he tried bringing all his old junk to the local shop, it wasnt long before the factory gave him the boot, honestly the showroom looked like a breakers yard from the 60s
the staff turned up one day to find an official receivers notice on the door and the locks changed
a great loss to local motorcyclists, and to five jobs , odd that it happened when two of the senior ones were on holiday !!
shyster is still trading though , but you would not want to buy a motorcycle from him !
we still have an excellent family business local to us selling and servicing Yamahas, and many other makes of machine, plus selling clothing and spare parts, always helpful, and i have directed friends there to buy a good secondhand machine, but they keep the business to a reasonable size, and dont try to become a vast corporation taking over the world
something i have seen in my old trade, buying out the opposition, thinking they will take over the territory, then finding the skilled staff stick two fingers up and move on, flogging off the assets and property to make short term gains, then it comes back to bit them on the backside !
I was looking at a new V85 or Stelvio, but have just bought a Triumph instead as I like the dealer and its 47 miles away. I service my Breva myself. The head ruled the heart on this occasion.
You mention Mototechnics. I took my bike there for a starter wire issue. Booked in, came to collect. Had it apart, said it could take months as overtired, next slot months away!
I too have a problem with rear suspension parts for Stelvio. I love the bike but find myself in situation I might again go back to two motorbikes just because of the spares situation.
My Original Grumble was not about the distance to the servicing point but was the refusal of dealers to offer a loan bike due to my age and then the problem of having to sit / wait at the dealers all day waiting for my bike. I don’t blame the dealers after all I’m the one who has had too many birthday cakes. Due to a back injury I cannot stand up for long or walk very far. Even if I could walk far enough for public transport the journey time is three hours each way. One dealer 30 miles away, wanted £120 each way to collect and deliver the bike. Adding that to the £300 charge for an oil change is a most persuasive argument for D.I.Y. servicing. What Triumph did you get? I had a 765. A really superb bike but no good for away trips.
My Ducati dealer leant me a bike when i had it serviced, which was useful as it was in Shipley, not far from the edge of the Yorkshire dales, so I could have a nice day out on something different.
I have bought a Triumph Tiger GT Pro. I am really pleased with it.
I still love my Breva though
my understanding of the service requirments is the valve adjustment can only be done when the engine is cold, meaning the bike has to be left overnight with them anyway.
Not sure yours is being done right if it’s while you wait and includes valves.
I live in the far West of Cornwall and my nearest dealer is in Exeter. When my V85TT had its services I had to stay in a B&B overnight! An expensive affair.
Newcombe Brothers in Chelmsford serviced my Stelvio this year and changed the fork seals (one failed when the bike fell over in Italy last year), new battery and fitted new discs, as well as some other minor stuff. They had the bike or about a week and gave me an Enfield Interceptor to play with. I only rode it 20 miles home and 20 miles back! It was a bit small for me but a nice looking bike.
Being a dry weather riding pensioner … neither bike has covered the mileage for a valve check. I had the bikes ‘dealer serviced’ while they were under warranty and an oil change took them up to five hours. That said Colchester Kawasaki is as good a place as any to wait. Good cafe upstairs, some interesting historic bikes to see and the people were all very nice. I am still capable of adjusting valves and changing oils so as long as that is all that is required, we’ll be happy. I just have to make a list of the parts I need and find a supplier. Although, my increasing decrepitude may yet prove me wrong.
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